Bodhi Tree at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple

Photo: The Bodhi Tree (Sacred Fig) at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple propagated from the Sri Maha Bodhi, which in turn was propagated from the original Bodhi Tree. The Mahabodhi Temple is at the spot where the Buddha attained enlightenment.

The Bodhi Tree is a large very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, about 100 km from Patna, Bihar. Under this tree Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment or Bodhi. It is believed it will take 100 to 3,000 years for a bodhi tree to grow fully.

The Sacred Fig or Bo-Tree is a species of banyan fig native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina. This tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The tree is well-known symbol for happiness, prosperity, longevity and good luck. Today in India, Hindu sadhus still meditate below this tree, and in Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist shrines.

The fig tree is known by various local names in Indian languages such as pipal (also spelt as peepal, peepul, pippala, etc) in Hindi, pimpald in Marathi, assattha or rukkha in Pali, kaṇavam or arasa maram in Tamil, arayal in Malayalam, asbattha or peepal in Bengali, raavi or raagi in Telugu and arali in Kannada.

The Bodhi Tree is believed to be a direct descendant of the original banyan tree under which Budha used to meditate. This tree is a destination for pilgrims because it is the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Other holy Bodhi trees in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti (in the present day's Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, India) and the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree.

According to Buddhist texts the Buddha, after his Enlightenment, spent a whole week in front of the tree, standing with unblinking eyes, gazing at it with gratitude. A shrine was later erected on the spot where he stood.

According to the Mahavamsa, the Sri Maha Bodhi in Sri Lanka was planted in 288 BC, making it the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm. The right branch of the Bodhi tree was brought by Sanghamitra, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and his Buddhist queen Devi, to Anuradhapura and placed by Devānāmpiyatissa in the Mahāmeghavana.

Gate of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, is a city situated in Talmage, Mendocino County, California, 180 km north of San Francisco. It was one of the first Buddhist monasteries built in the United States. The temple follows the Guiyang Chan School, one of the five houses of classical Chinese Chan.

The founder Hsuan Hua (16 April 1918 - 7 June 1995), was a revered Chan Buddhist monk who had an important role in the propagation of Western Buddhism in the United States. He is also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun.

Development of Zen (translated from the Chinese word Chan to Japanese, and originally derived from the Sanskrit word ‘dhyana’) is traditionally credited to be in China, in the Shaolin Temple, by the South Indian Pallava prince-turned-monk Bodhidharma, who came to China to teach the principles of Chan or Zen.

Address : 2001 Talmage Road, Ukiah, California 95482, USA

Website: www.cttbusa.org

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, situated in Talmage, Mendocino County, California, USA. The city was founded by Master Hsuan Hua. Constructed in 1982, the Jeweled Hall is adorned with streamers, banners, lamps and a 20-foot (6 m) statue of a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The walls of the hall are adorned with 10,000 images of the Buddha molded by Master Hsuan Hua himself.

Avalokitesvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, and one of the most revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism. In China, Avalokitesvara is often depicted in a female form known as Guan Yin. In India, Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapani, Lokesvara or Tara. In Tibetan, Avalokitesvara is known as Chenrezig, and is said to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa and other high Lamas. In Mongolia, he is called Megjid Janraisig or Xongsim Bodisadva.

Ho Phra Keo: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Oldest temple of Vientiane, originally uploaded by B℮n.

Ho Phra Keo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (formerly known as Wat Phra Kaew) is a former monastery and royal temple of the Lao monarchs. Built in 1565 by King Saya Setthathirath of the Kingdom of Lane Xang, it housed the Emerald Buddha, carved from a type of jade. The temple was destroyed during the Siamese invasion of 1828 and rebuilt between 1936 and 1942. ‘Surrounding the temple and its exquisitely kept gardens are 10 staircases, each intricately and symmetrically carved in the shape of dragons, adding to the distinct structure and design’, the author of this photo adds.